Coil cradle rolls



1962 J. R. EDMONDS 3,048,347

COIL CRADLE ROLLS Filed g- 26, 9 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR John R. Edmonds ATTORNEY 7, 1962 J. R. EDMONDS 3,048,347

COIL CRADLE ROLLS Filed Aug. 26, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR John R. Edmonds ATTORNEY United States This invention relates to strip uncoiler cradles and more particularly to driver rollers for strip uncoiler cradles and to machines provided with such driver rollers for uncoiling metal strip stock for feeding such metal strip material to metal working machines such as punch presses and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved driver rollers for supporting and rotating coils or rolls of metal strip stock in order to uncoil the strip stock from such coils or rolls.

Another object is to provide driver rollers, of the type described above, which are adapted to prevent the rolls or coils from developing slack in the outer layers of the coils or rolls as the latter are rotated.

Still another object is to provide driver rollers, of the type described above, having a non-circular rigid core covered by a resilient substance whereby the formation of slack is prevented in the outer layers of a coil supported on the driver rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a driver roller, of the type described above, which is circular in cross-section and is provided with a rigid interal longitudinal core which is polygonal in cross-section covered by a resilient substance.

A still further object is to provide a driver roller, of the type described above, having means for imparting periodic jars on vibrations to the coil it supports and rotates whereby the outer convolutions of the coil tend to be rotated at a greater speed than the inner convolutions whereby formation of slack is prevented in the outer convolutions of the coil as the coil is rotated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a strip uncoiler cradle having a pair of driver rollers for supporting and rotating a coil of metal strip or the like which prevent formation of slack in the outer convolutions of the coil.

Still another object is to provide a strip uncoiler cradle, of the type described above, wherein the driver rollers are substantially circular in cross-section and are provided with non-circular rigid core over which extends a resilient sheath.

A still further object is to provide a strip uncoiler cradle having driver rollers for supporting and rotating a coil of metal strip or the like wherein the driver rollers are adapted to impart periodic jars of vibrations to the coil as the latter is rotated thereby to prevent formation of slack in the outer convolutions of the coil.

Another object is to provide a driver roller, of the type described, which is provided with a resilient sheath which prevents marring of the strip supported on and driven thereby.

Still another object is to provide a driver roller having a rigid longitudinal core, polygonal in cross-section which is covered by a resilient sheath having longitudinal grooves aligned with the longitudinal flats of the polygonal core.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the reading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompaying drawings thereof, wherein:

In the drawing, FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of a strip uncoiler cradle provided with driver rollers in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, with some parts broken away, of a driver roller of the strip uncoiler cradle shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic sketch showing the manner in which a conventional roller causes loosening of the convolutions of a coil;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view, with some parts broken away, of a modified form of the cradle; and,

- FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a modified form of the driver roller shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, the strip uncoiler cradle 10 is identical, except for the driver rollers 11 and 12, in construction with the strip uncoiler cradle illustrated and described in the patent to Rowe, No. 2,692,737, issued October 26, 1954. The strip uncoiler cradles includes a base comprising a pair of spaced upright side frame plates 13 and 14 which are connected together and held in substantially parallel spaced relationship by an upper rear spacer bolt 14a, a lower rear spacer bolt 15 and a lower front spacer bolt 16. The upper front portions of the plates are cut away along a diagonal incline to provide access to a coil S of metal strip supported on the cradle.

The rear driver roller '11 extends transversely of the lower central portion of the side plates and has its ends suitably supported in bearings '17 carried by said side plates while the front driver roller 12 extends transversely of the lower front portion of the side plates and has its ends suitably supported in bearings 18 carried by the side plates. A pair of auxiliary supporting and driver rollers 19 and 20 also extend transversely of the side plates in uniformly spaced relationship between the rear and front driver rollers 11 and 12, respectively, and are journalled at their ends in suitable bearings 21 and 22 in the side plates. These auxiliary rollers are positioned below the line of centers of the front and rear driver rollers to support and drive small diameter coils of strip and also serve to prevent large heavy coils from contacting the floor or the like in the space between the rear and front driver rollers 11 and 12.

The rear and front driver rollers 11 and '12 ac secured to driver sprockets 23 and 24, respectively adjacent the ends near the side plate 14, as clearly shown in FIGURES l, and an endless roller chain 25 connect the sprockets with each other and with a driver sprocket 26 mounted on a drive shaft 27 carried by the side plates'near their rear edges. The drive shaft 27 is rotated by an electric motor 28 having a drive pulley 29 which is connected by an endless belt 30 with a drive pulley 31 mounted on the drive shaft. The auxiliary rollers 19 and 20 also have drive sprocket gears (not shown), secured to such auxiliary rollers adjacent their ends near the side plate 14 and in a common plane with the sprockets 23 and 24 of the front and rear driver rollers as is fully explained in the patent to Rowe No. 2,692,737. Thus the electric motor 28 will turn the drive shaft 27 and the drive sprocket 26 mounted thereon which, through the endless chain 25, drives both the front and rear driver and supporting rollers 11 and 12 and the auxiliary rollers 19 and 20 to rotate the coil S which is supported peripherally on the driver rollers.

The size of the sprockets of the auxiliary rollers 19 and 20 is so proportioned to the size of the gear sprockets 23 and 24 that the peripheral speed of the respective rollers is substantially the same.

For supporting and positioning the coil of metal strip within the cradle and on the driver rollers, an upright laterally adjustable supporting plate 36 is movably positioned between the side frame plates 13 and 14. The adjustable supporting plate is movable between the side frame plates 13 and 14 by means of an upper cross feed screw 37, a lower rear cross feed screw 38, and a lower front cross feed screw, not shown, which are interconnected for simultaneous rotation by an endless sprocket chain 41 as is fully described in said patent to Rowe, No. 2, 692,737.

Control of the uncoiling operation is accomplished by controlling the operation of an electric motor 28 which drives the driver rollers for rotating the coil carried by the cradle. The operation of the lever mechanism L which is moved in response to the size of the outer loop 42 of a strip material unwinding from the coil S and the switch activated thereby is also fully explained in the patent to Rowe, No. 2,692,737.

It is found that, when conventional driver rollers are employed in place of the driver rollers 11 and 12, slack is produced at the rear, or left as seen in FIGURE 1, in the outer layers or convolutions of the coils. This slack increases as the coil is further rotated and produces a consequent undesirable increase in the size and looseness of the coil. The slack is caused by slipping between the outer convolution 50 (FIGURE 4) and the adjacent upper or inner convolution 51 due to the fact that the upper or inner convolution is being driven at a slightly faster rate than the outer convolution. This difference in driving rate is in turn caused, as is shown in an exaggerated manner in FIGURE 4, by the fact that the conventional driver roller 52 imbeds in the coil causing the convolutions to are or bend around the upper surface of the driver roller as at 53 and consequently the peripheral speed of movement of the driver roller abutting the outer convolution is less than the effective speed of movement of the convex area 54 of the outer convolution where it abuts the adjacent inner convolution.

The driver rollers 11 and 12 of the invention prevent such slippage between the convolutions of a coil supported on and driven thereby. The driver rollers 11 and 12 are each provided with a rigid non resilient core 60 having a cross-sectional shape which is hexagonal but which could be any shape other than circular which will provide in effect a longitudinally serrated or ribbed roller for trapping portions of the outer convolutions of the coil supported on and driven by the rollers between such longitudinal projections or ribs to produce the desired slipping tightening movement of the outer convolutions of the coil to maintain the same in tightly wound condition on the coil, the resilient sheath permitting such trapping and sliding movement of such portions of the coil as it is unwound. A sleeve or sheath 61 of rubber or other resilient substance is disposed about the hexagonal roller so that the cross-sectional peripheral shape of the complete driver roller is circular. The sheath is molded or otherwise formed in such a manner that the shape of its bore corresponds to that of the core. The sheath 61 is prevented from sliding off or being extruded otf the core 60 by a pair of retainer collars 62 and 63 which are shrunk fitted on the reduced annular surfaces 64 and 65, respectively, of the core 60. The core is further provided with a pair of reduced bearing journals 66 and 67 which are receivable in the bearing 17 or 18 carried by the side plates of the cradle.

The hexagonal shape of the core provides a plurality of sharp corners or ridge portions 68 which cause the convolutions of the coil to be periodically supported on these sharp corners, the sheath 61 being thinner at the corners, so that the outer convolution is actually slipped relative to the next inner adjacent convolution if any slack is present to cause the coil to tighten.

The thicker portions of the sheath 61 between the points 68 and aligned with the flats or longitudinal flat surfaces 69 of the core, also tend to trap any slack in the coil as it is developed and force it out over the roller thus preventing development of slack.

The resilient sheath of course prevents direct contact of the rigid hard core 60 of the driver roller with the coil of strip so that no scratching or marring of the strip by the driver roller can occur.

It will be seen now that a new and improved strip uncoiler cradle has been illustrated and described which includes a pair of upright side frame plates 13 and 14 and a plurality of driver rollers 11, 12, 19 and 20 extending between and carried by the side frame plates. It will also be apparent that the driver rollers are rotated simultaneously, by an electric motor 28, to rotate a coil of strip adapted to be supported on the driver roller.

It will also be apparent that at least the front and rear driver rollers 11 and 12 have non-circular rigid or hard cores 60 over which are disposed resilient sheaths 61, which impart a circular cross-sectional shape to the complete driver roller, in order to prevent formation of slack in the convolutions of a coil supported on and driven by the driver roller. It will also be apparent that the driver rollers 11 and 12 are provided with retainer collars at each end to prevent longitudinal slippage or extrusion of the sheath 61 relative to the core.

In FIGURE 5 is illustrated a modified form of cradle 70 which is especially adapted to use with coils of width sufiiciently great to afford stable positioning thereof on the driver rollers thus obviating use of positioning and guiding plates such as the plates 14 and 36 of the cradle 10. The cradle 70 includes a channel shaped base 71 having a horizontal web 71a and vertical side flanges 72 and 73. A pair of driver rollers and 76, identical in construction with the driver rollers 11 and 12 of the strip uncoiled cradle 10, are rotatably supported on the side flanges 72 and 73 by means of bearings 77 in which the ends of the driver rollers are journalled. The driver rollers 75 and 76 are provided with sprockets 78 and 79, respectively, secured to the driver rollers adjacent the ends near the side flange 72; and an endless chain 80 connects the sprockets with each other and with a driver sprocket 81 mounted on the drive shaft 82 of an electric motor 83. The electric motor 83 is mounted in the web 71a of the base 71.

It will be seen that a coil of strip of relatively great width may be supported on and rotated by the driver rollers 75 and 76 to uncoil the strip. The motor 83 causes the driver rollers to rotate through the action of the chain 80 and the sprockets engaged thereby. The operation of the electric motor may be controlled by a suitable switch (not shown) or by a lever mechanism and switch such as is illustrated and described in said patent to Rowe, No. 2,692,737.

In FIGURE 6 is illustrated a modified form of the driver roller shown in FIGURE 2 wherein the rigid nonresilient polygonal core 60 of the driver roller has disposed about it a resilient sheath )1. The sheath 91 is molded or otherwise formed in such manner that the shape of its bore corresponds to that of the core while its outer surface is substantially circular in cross-section. The outer surface of the sheath 91 is provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves 92 which are aligned with the longitudinal flat surfaces 69 of the core. The grooves 92 are of a width A no greater than that of the fiat surfaces 69 of the core. It has also been found desirable that the width A of the grooves be as great or greater than the width B of the outer-longitudinal curved surfaces 93 of the sheath 91.' The driver roller 90 functions in the same manner as the driver rollers 11 and 12 but provision of the grooves 92 in the resilient sheath disposed about the non-circular rigid core increases the slack trapping effect of the driver roller and thus in creases the effectiveness of the driver roller in preventing development of slack in the convolutions of a coil supported thereon and rotated thereby.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for maintaining the outer convolutions of the coil in a tightly wound condition while uncoiling said strip, said cradle including: a pair of side frame plates, a plurality of driver rollers extending between and rotatably carried by said side frame plates for supporting and rotating a coil of strip, and means for rotating said driver rollers, at least one of said driver rollers having a rigid core non-circular in cross-sectional shape and having more than four circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending sharp corners spaced peripherally of the core relative to one another and a resilient sheath disposed about said core, said noncircular core providing for trapping portions of the outer convolutions of the coil sup ported on and driven by the rollers to maintain the same in a tightly wound condition on the coil, said resilient sheath permitting such trapping of such portions of the coil.

2. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for maintaining the outer convolutions of the coil in a tightly wound condition while uncoiling said strip, said cradle including: a pair of side frame plates, a plurality of driver rollers extending between and rotatably carried by said side frame plates for supporting and rotating a coil of strip, and means for rotating said driver rollers, at least one of said driver rollers having a rigid core non-circular in cross-sectional shape and having more than four circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending sharp corners spaced peripherally of the core relative to one another and a resilient sheath disposed about said core, said noncircular core providing for trapping portions of the outer convolutions of the coil supported on and driven by the rollers to maintain the same in a tightly wound condition on the coil, said resilient sheath permitting such trapping of such portions of the coil, said rigid core being provided with externally extending retainer means at opposite ends of said sheath to provent longitudinal movement thereof on the core.

3. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for maintaining the outer convolutions of the coil in a tightly Wound condition while uncoiling said strip, said cradle including: a base, a plurality of driver rollers rotatably carried by said base for supporting and rotating a coil of strip, and means for rotating said driver rollers, at least one of said driver rollers having a rigid core non-circular in cross-sectional shape and a resilient sheath disposed about said core, said core being polygonal in cross-sectional shape and providing a plurality of longitudinally extending substantially uniformly spaced ridge portions extending further from the longitudinal axis of the core than the portions of said core between said ridge portions, said ridge portions providing for supporting the coil of strip being rotated on the rollers to permit the adjacent portion of the outer convolutions of the coil to flex in the lesser projecting portions of the core between the ridges to trap the slack portion of the outer convolution between adjacent ridges as the coil 6 rotates and maintain the coil in a tightly wound condition, said sheath having a circular peripheral surface said ridge portions being more than four in number and being spaced peripherally of the core relative to one another.

4. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for maintaining the outer convolutions of the coil in a tightly wound condition while uncoiling said strip, said cradle including: a base, a plurality of driver rollers rotatably carried by said base for supporting and rotating a coil of strip, and means for rotating said driver rollers, at least one of said driver rollers having a rigid core non-circular in cross-sectional shape and a resilient sheath disposed about said core, said core being polygonal in cross-sectional shape and providing a plurality of longitudinally extending substantially uniformly spaced ridge portions extending further from the longitudinal axis of the core than the portions of said core between said ridge portions, said ridge portions providing for supporting the coil of strip being rotated on the rollers to permit the adjacent portion of the outer convolutions of the coil to flex in the lesser projecting portions of the core between the ridges to trap the slack portion of the outer convolution between adjacent ridges as the coil rotates and maintain the coil in a tightly wound condition, said rigid core being provided with externally extending retainer means at opposite ends of said sheath to prevent longitudinal movement thereof on the core said ridge portions being more than four in number and being spaced peripherally of the core relative to one another.

5. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for uncoiling said strip, said cradle including: a pair of side frame plates; a plurality of driver rollers extending between and rotatably carried by said side frame plates for supporting and rotating a coil of strip; and means for rotating said driver rollers, the rearmost and foremost of said driver rollers having a rigid core non-circular in cross-sectional shape and having longitudinally extending external flat surfaces exceeding four in number and a resilient sheath disposed about said core, the noncircular cross-sectional shape of the core and the resilient sheath providing for maintaining the outer convolutions of the coil supported on said driver rollers in a tightly wound condition.

6. A cradle for supporting and rotating a coil of strip material for uncoiling said strip and having means therein for maintaining the convolutions of the coiled strip in a tightly wound condition during such uncoiling rotation of said coil, said cradle including: a base; a plurality of driver rollers rotatably mounted on the said base for supporting and rotating said coil of strip, said driver rollers being rotatable about spaced parallel horizontal axes; and means for rotating said driver rollers; said means for maintaining said coil of strip material in a tightly wound condition during such uncoiling rotation thereof on the driver rollers comprising: at least one of said driver rollers having a rigid core formed with a plurality of substantially uniformly circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending flat surfaces on its exterior providing a plurality of substantially uniformly circumferentially spaced projecting rib-like portions and lesser projecting flat areas exceeding four in number between said riblike projections, and a resilient sheath secured to the exterior of said core and providing a substantially cylindrical external peripheral shape; said rib-like projecting portions of said rigid core supporting the portion of the coil engaging said driver roll to permit accumulation of slack between each of such projecting portion and the next successive adjacent circumferentially spaced projecting portion to maintain said coil in a tightly wound condition, said resilient sheath permitting such accumulation of slack between projecting portions of the core and preventing scar-ring the external surface of the coil.

7. A device of the character set forth in claim 6,

wherein the resilient sheath on the core of the driver roller is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending grooves in its peripheral surface, each of said grooves being radially aligned with one of the fiat surfaces of the core, said grooves providing for accommodating additional flexing of the outer convolutions of the coil of strip between the rib-like projections of the core of the driver roller.

8. A device of the character set forth in claim 7, wherein the grooves formed in the outer peripheral of the resilient sheath of the driver roller have a width not greater than the width of the corresponding underlying fiat surface of the core.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bird et a1 May 24, 1870 Burnham July 4, 1911 Yant Apr. 21, 1925 Vedder Dec. 5, 1933 Lippincott et a1 Oct. 20, 1936 Crites July 1, 1941 Joswik Sept. 16, 1952. Erhardt Dec. 16, 1952 Rowe Oct. 26, 1954 Sawyer Aug. 23, 1955 Rockofl Sept. 3, 1957 

